As Amy Hagadorn rounded the corner across the hall from her classroom, she collided with a tall boy from the fifth grade running in the opposite direction.

在艾米繞過她的教室對面的走廊的拐角時，她迎面撞到了一個5年級的高個男孩。

"Watch it, Squirt," the boy yelled, as he dodged around the little third grader. Then, with a smirk on his face, the boy took hold of his right leg and mimicked the way Amy limped when she walked.

那男孩在避開這個三年級的學(xué)生時大叫，“看路，小個子，”然后，他臉上帶著帶厭的笑容，用手按在他的右腿上，模仿著艾米走路跛行的樣子。

Amy closed her eyes for a moment.

艾米將雙眼閉上了一會。

'Ignore him,' she told herself as she headed for her classroom.

“不理會他，”她在返回教室時對自己說。

But at the end of the day, Amy was still thinking about the tall boy's mean teasing. It wasn't as if he were the only one. It seemed that ever since Amy started the　third grade, someone teased her every single day. Kids teased her about her speech or her limping. Amy was tired of it. Sometimes, even in a classroom full of other students, the teasing made her feel all alone.

但是在那天結(jié)束時，艾米仍然想著那個高個男孩低劣的嘲笑。其實(shí)他不是唯一的一個做出這種事的人。好像自從艾米上三年級后，每天都有人在嘲笑他。孩子嘲笑她的講話或是她的跛行。艾米受夠了。有時，即使在坐滿了學(xué)生的教室里，別人的嘲笑使她感到孤單無助。

Back home at the dinner table that evening Amy was quiet. Her mother knew that things were not going well at school. That's why Patti Hagadorn was happy to have some exciting news to share with her daughter.

那晚，回到家里，艾米坐在餐桌旁邊默不做聲。她的母親知道肯定是在學(xué)校里遇到不順心的事了。所以，派蒂決定告訴她女兒一些激動的消息。

"There's a Christmas Wish Contest on the radio station," Amy's mom announced. "Write a letter to Santa and you might win a prize. I think someone at this table with blond curly hair should enter."

“在電臺中有一個圣誕節(jié)愿望競賽的節(jié)目，”艾米的母親告知她?！敖o圣誕老人寫封信，你也許可能得到獎品。我認(rèn)為坐在餐桌邊的金發(fā)卷毛的人應(yīng)該參加?！?/P>

Amy giggled. The contest sounded like fun. She started thinking about what she wanted most for Christmas.

艾米咯咯地笑了。競賽聽起來很有趣。她開始思考她最想的圣誕節(jié)禮物了。

A smile took hold of Amy when the idea first came to her. Out came pencil and paper and Amy went to work on her letter. "Dear Santa Claus," she began.

當(dāng)艾米第一次想起這個主意時，她臉上掛滿了笑。她拿出鉛筆和紙，開始寫信。“親愛的圣誕老人，”她開始寫道。

While Amy worked away at her best printing, the rest of the family tried to guess what she might ask from Santa. Amy's sister, Jamie, and Amy's mom both thought a 3-foot Barbie Doll would top Amy's wish list. Amy's dad guessed a picture book. But Amy wasn't ready to reveal her secret Christmas wish just then. Here is Amy's letter to Santa, just as she wrote it that night:

當(dāng)艾米起勁地做作文時，家里的其他人試圖猜測她可能向圣誕老人要求什么。艾米的姐姐，杰米，艾米的媽媽都認(rèn)為3英寸大的芭比娃娃是艾米最想要的東西。艾米的爸爸認(rèn)為是一本圖畫書。但是艾米當(dāng)時還不想告訴他們，她的秘密圣誕節(jié)愿望。以下是艾米寫給圣誕老人的信，就是那晚上她寫的：

Dear Santa Claus,

My name is Amy. I am 9 years old. I have a problem at school. Can you help me, Santa? Kids laugh at me because of the way I walk and run and talk. I have cerebral palsy. I just want one day where no one laughs at me or makes fun of me.

Love,

Amy

親愛的圣誕老人，

我的名字叫艾米。我9歲大了。我在學(xué)校有一個麻煩。你能幫我嗎，圣誕老人？孩子們笑話我講話和走路、奔跑的方式。我患有腦癱。我只想擁有一天，沒人笑話和取笑我。

愛你的，

艾米

At radio station WJLT in Fort Wayne, Indiana, letters poured in for the Christmas Wish Contest. The workers had fun reading about all the different presents that boys and girls from across the city wanted for Christmas.

在印地安那州的韋恩堡WJLT廣播電臺，參加圣誕節(jié)愿望競賽的信件蜂擁而至。工作人員在閱讀來自全市的男孩和女孩寄來的各種各樣的圣誕節(jié)禮物信件時感到非常開心。

When Amy's letter arrived at the radio station, manager Lee Tobin read it carefully. He knew cerebral palsy was a muscle disorder that might confuse the schoolmates of Amy who didn't understand her disability. He thought it would be good for the people in Fort Wayne to hear about this special third grader and her unusual wish. Mr. Tobin called up the local newspaper.

當(dāng)艾米的信送到電臺時，經(jīng)理李.托賓仔細(xì)地閱讀了內(nèi)容。他知道腦癱是一種肌肉紊亂的病癥，所以可能艾米的同學(xué)從外表看不出她有殘疾。他認(rèn)為對韋恩堡的市民最好聽到這位特別的三年級的故事和她非一般的愿望。托賓先生給當(dāng)?shù)貓蠹埓蛄穗娫挕?/P>

The next day, a picture of Amy and her letter to Santa made the front page of the "News Sentinel." The story spread quickly. All across the country, newspapers and radio and television stations reported the story of the little girl in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who asked for such a simple, yet remarkable, Christmas gift - just one day without teasing.

第二天，艾米的照片和她寫給圣誕老人的信登上了《新聞前哨》的首頁。故事很快傳開了。全面范圍的報紙和電臺、電視臺報道了這個印地安那州的韋恩堡的小女孩的故事，她要求的只是這樣一個簡單但是值得注意的圣誕節(jié)禮物——只是沒有取笑的一天。

Suddenly the postman was a regular at the Hagadorn house. Envelopes of all sizes addressed to Amy arrived daily from children and adults all across the nation. They came filled with holiday greetings and words of encouragement.

突然，郵差成了艾米家的?？?。每天，都有各種型號的信件寄給艾米，來自于全國的小孩和大人們。信里充滿了節(jié)日的問候和鼓勵的話語。

During that unforgettable Christmas season, over two thousand people from all over the world sent Amy letters of friendship and support. Amy and her family read every single one. Some of the writers had disabilities; some had been teased as children. Each writer had a special message for Amy. Through the cards and letters from strangers, Amy glimpsed a world full of people who truly cared about each other. She realized that no amount or form of teasing could ever make her feel lonely again.

在那個不可忘懷的圣誕節(jié)期間，世界范圍內(nèi)超過2千人寄給艾米信件表達(dá)友情和支持。艾米和她的家人閱讀了全部信件。一些來信者也患有殘疾，一些人在小時候也被嘲笑過。每位來信者都向艾米表達(dá)了一種特別的信息。通過來自陌生人的祝?？ê托偶灼骋娏艘粋€充滿了真正地互相關(guān)懷的人類的社會。她認(rèn)識到，再多的或再惡毒的嘲笑都不能再使她感到孤單了。

Many people thanked Amy for being brave enough to speak up. Others encouraged her to ignore teasing and to carry her head high. Lynn, a sixth grader from Texas, sent this message:

很多人都被艾米勇敢地說出心聲而感動。其他人則鼓勵她去不理睬嘲笑，勇敢面對。來自德克薩斯州的一位6年級生，林恩，寄給了她一封信：

"I would like to be your friend," she wrote, "and if you want to visit me, we could have fun. No one would make fun of us, cause, if they do, we will not even hear them." Amy did get her wish of a special day without teasing at South Wayne Elementary School. Additionally, everyone at school got an added bonus. Teachers and students talked together about how bad teasing can make others feel.

“我希望和你交個朋友，”她寫道，“如果你想來看望我，我們可以好好玩玩。沒人會取笑我們，因?yàn)椋绻麄內(nèi)⌒?，我們聽都不會聽到?！?艾米的確實(shí)現(xiàn)了她的愿望，在南韋恩堡小學(xué)度過了沒有取笑的一天。還有，學(xué)校的每個人都學(xué)到了額外的東西。教師和學(xué)生一起討論取笑他人會給他人帶來不佳的感覺。

That year, the Fort Wayne mayor officially proclaimed December 21st as Amy Jo Hagadorn Day throughout the city. The mayor explained that by daring to make such a simple wish, Amy taught a universal lesson.

那一年，韋恩堡市長正式宣布12月21號作為全市的艾米日。市長解釋說，因?yàn)榘赘矣谧龀鲞@樣一個簡單的許愿，她讓大家都學(xué)到了東西。

"Everyone," said the mayor, "wants and deserves to be treated with respect, dignity and warmth."

“所有人，”市長說道，“都希望得到并且應(yīng)該得到尊重、尊嚴(yán)和友善?！?/P>

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